DETROIT — Nothing made shutters click faster than the appearance of one particular man.

Oh, sure, people still cheered Austin Jackson, took selfies with Torii Hunter, chatted with a slimmed-down, bearded Joba Chamberlain, and watched Omar Vizquel and Jose Iglesias put on a fielding clinic (literally, not figuratively) at the 2014 edition of TigerFest at Comerica Park Saturday afternoon.
But nothing made cell-phone cameras zip into shooting position faster than the appearance of first-time manager Brad Ausmus.

Granted, some of that may be due to the (unconfirmed) rumor that he’s photogenic.

But the reality is this: Tigers fans want to see the new skipper, hear from him, take a snapshot of the personality of the man tabbed to keep the team among the elite in the American League.

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The man replacing the popular-yet-sometimes-panned Jim Leyland, who guided the Tigers to three AL Central titles and four playoff appearances in seven seasons.

“No pressure,” deadpanned Ausmus, when he was introduced to a crowd at the main stage as replacing “a legend.”

Fans want to know what the batting order is, months away from the first time that Ausmus will have to actually write it out in a regular-season game.

“This is the most popular question over the last few days. I can’t give away everything. I said last night, I know that Miggy is going to hit third, fourth or fifth. After that, I’m not sure,” joked Ausmus, who spent the previous two days making the tour of Michigan on the Winter Caravan busses. “If it’s not broken, don’t break it, as Torii Hunter said the other night.”

They want to know how he feels about bunting.

“Well, we’re not going to be bunting a ton. There will be time where the bunt is called for. There’s times when you’re not scoring runs, or you’re facing a tough pitcher and a tough bullpen, and you need to lay down a bunt — well, I’m going to lay down a bunt. I don’t know that I’m going to ask Miguel Cabrera to lay down a bunt,” the manager said.

“Really, in baseball, but for the most part in the American League, you want to play for the big inning. You don’t want to limit yourself to one run. If the heart of the order is coming up, four through six, I don’t know that you want to bunt with no outs. You get that one run in, but you haven’t gotten to that four-five-six hole, where they could, rather than just score one run, maybe score two runs. So, you gotta be smart about it. There are times it’s called for, and I’m sure we’ll do it.”

They want to know his stance on ‘small ball.’

“I don’t love the phrase. I like homers. But we have a different sort of team. We traded Prince Fielder, who had a lot of power. We have guys that have other assets, other capabilities. You try to take advantage of that. Rajai Davis brings some speed. Austin Jackson is one of the better athletes in the game. He can really run,” Ausmus said. “You take advantage of some of those abilities that players have.”

Three weeks out from the start of spring training, the team is pretty well set — although general manager Dave Dombrowski left the door open that the team could add someone on a minor deal. “I wouldn’t get into specific names, but names that are not front-and-center, premium type guys,” he said.

Now, the storylines are just how a retooled roster will come together in the spring, and how the new manager will conduct his business.

“My guess is, we’ll probably do a few things this spring that haven’t been done in the past,” Ausmus said. “I think the big thing is, there’s a lot of roster flexibility, maneuverability with the team we have. So you want to get them ready for the season, especially the guys who are coming off surgery, and you want to avoid any injury, if you can, to other players.

“Rarely does an organization or team go through spring training without some type of injury. This year, I’m hoping we can get through without one.”

Saturday’s event — coupled with the Winter Caravans — is always the official kickoff of the baseball preseason, so to speak.

It’s when the excitement begins to build.

“I can’t wait. I guess when I say that, the weather outside helps a little bit, too. No, I’m anxious. I think it’s time. You go through the wintertime, the moves, we’ve had some changes, we’ve had some young guys. Every year you look forward to it,” Dombrowski said.

“Just a little bit different outlook this year, because of some of the changes. It starts with the new manager. Working with him every day. New coaching staff, with a lot of new coaching members. A little bit different makeup of player, with some youngsters being worked in. Looking forward to seeing them. I can’t wait to go.”

Matthew B. Mowery covers the Tigers for Digital First Media. Read his “Out of Left Field” blog at opoutofleftfield.blogspot.com.